Around
the World
[April – June 2015]
Nuclear Accord with
Iran
·
The
United States, Iran and five other world powers (China, France, Britain, Russia
and Germany) announced an understanding outlining limits on Iran’s nuclear
programme so it cannot lead to atomic weapons, directing negotiators toward
achieving a comprehensive agreement within three months.
·
Iran
will use only the facility at Natanz to enrich uranium
·
Iran
will not enrich uranium over 3.67 percent for at least 15 years.
Normandy Group
·
Normandy
Four group comprising of foreign ministers of four nations viz., Russia,
Ukraine, Germany and France agreed to form four working groups to observe the
implementation of the ceasefire deal on Ukraine conflict
Indonesia executes 7
foreign convicts
·
An
Indonesian firing squad executed eight convicted drug traffickers from several
countries
·
It
prompted Australia to recall its envoy to Jakarta and bringing an angry
reaction from Brazil.
·
The leaders of Australia and Brazil had made
personal appeals for clemency for their citizens among the group, raising the
stakes for Indonesia’s new President, Joko Widodo.
·
Both
countries oppose capital punishment and have railed against Mr. Widodo’s move
to step up the pace of executions, after a five-year moratorium, since coming
to office in July 2014. Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were
executed by firing squad along with four Nigerians, a Brazilian and an
Indonesian. Charlie Burrows, religious counsellor to the Brazilian convict who
was with the prisoners before the execution said all eight had refused
blindfolds before they were shot.
South Africa and
Cecil Rhodes statue
·
The
University of Cape Town (UCT) of South Africa voted to remove a statue of
British colonialist Cecil Rhodes from the campus.
·
The
statue had become a focus of student protests.
·
The
decision of Council follows weeks of protest and debate over the statue. The
matter was known as the Rhodes Must Fall debate
·
Cecil
Rhodes born in July 1853 was a British colonialist, businessman, mining magnate
and politician in southern Africa, who founded Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) which
was named after him in 1895. Rhodes University is also named after him. He died
on 26 March 1902.
Anything To Say?
·
A Public Art Project
·
At
Alexander Square, Berlin
·
The
life-size sculptures of Edward
Snowden, Julian Assange
and Chelsea Manning
·
Sculptures
done by Italian Artist Davide Dormino
·
To
honour them for their courage
·
Dormino
said the fourth chair is for the common man to stand up and get his/her voice
heard
Singapore: First
museum Indian Heritage Centre in Little India
·
Singapore
PM Lee Hsien Loong opened first museum Indian Heritage Centre in Little India.
·
The
museum was dedicated to Indian history.
·
Singapore is celebrating 50 years of its independence in 2015 as well as
50 years of diplomatic relations with India.
·
The
Government of India has presented busts of four nationalist leaders to
Singapore's Indian Heritage Centre (IHC).
·
IHC
is now open to the public. The nationalist leaders' busts - including of Mahatama Gandhi, Rabindranath
Tagore, Pandit Jawarhalal Nehru and Netaji Subash Chandra Bose - are
displayed in IHC's gallery on Social and Political Awakening in Singapore.
Vatican recognises
Palestine
·
Vatican
recognised Palestine as a state in the Holy See-Palestine.
·
The
Joint Statement titled Bilateral Commission of the Holy See and the State of
Palestine was released after the Plenary Session held in Vatican on a
Comprehensive Agreement following on the Basic Agreement signed on 15 February
2000. The Basic Agreement of 2000 deals with essential aspects of the life and
activity of the Catholic Church in Palestine.
UK Election 2015
·
Prime
Minister David Cameron and his Conservatives won a resounding victory in the
British general election, with nearly complete results showing that the party
had secured an overall majority in Parliament.
·
The
Conservative Party won with 331 seats, comfortably crossing the 326 mid-way
mark in the 650-seat House of Commons.
·
10
Indian Origins won the election: A record number of 10 Indian-origin candidates
including Keith Vaz and Priti Patel were elected to the British Parliament. The
overall tally of 10 Indian-origin MPs in the British Parliament breaks the
previous 2010 general election record of eight.
·
Indian-origin
Priti Patel appointed as Minister of State for Employment in British Government
|
Indian Origin Candidates
|
Party
|
Seat
|
|
|
Keith
Vaz
|
Labour
|
Leicester
East
|
|
|
Virendra
Sharma
|
Labour
|
Ealing
Southall
|
|
|
Priti
Patel
|
Conservative
|
Witham
|
|
|
Valerie
Vaz
|
Labour
|
Walsall
South
|
|
|
Seema
Malhotra
|
Labour
|
South
West London
|
|
|
Rishi
Sunak
|
Conservative
|
Richmond
(Yorks)
|
|
|
Alok
Sharma
|
Conservative
|
Reading
West
|
|
|
Shailesh
Vara
|
Conservative
|
Cambridgeshire
North West
|
|
|
Suella
Fernandes
|
Conservative
|
Fareham
|
|
|
Lisa
Nandy
|
Labour
|
Wigan
|
|
|
Paul
Uppal
|
Conservative
|
Wolverhampton
South West
|
|
|
Arun
|
Conservative
|
Yardley
|
|
|
Suria
Photay
|
Conservative
|
Wolverhampton
South East
|
|
|
Loser
|
|||
|
Paul
Uppal
|
Conservative
|
Wolverhampton
South West
|
|
|
Arun
|
Conservative
|
Yardley
|
|
|
Suria
Photay
|
Conservative
|
Wolverhampton
South East
|
|
Arctic Challenge
Exercise 2015
·
By
NATO
·
In
Norway, Sweden and Finland
·
9
countries participated
Ireland legalizes
same sex marriage
·
The
Republic of Ireland voted strongly in favour of legalising same sex marriage in
a referendum in which more than 3.2 million people cast their vote.
·
Ireland is the first country to legalise
same-sex marriage through a popular vote.
·
SCOTUS
(Supreme Court of the United States) legalised the same sex marriage
·
The
28-page ruling was made by Justice Anthony Kennedy and was agreed by Justices
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
·
With this ruling, now the states cannot
deny marriage rights enjoyed for thousands of years by opposite-sex couples to
gay men and lesbians. The decision is expected to trigger same-sex marriages in
fourteen states that banned the practice.
·
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier
Bettel has married his gay partner, becoming the first leader in the European
Union to enter into a same-sex union in a symbol of growing social change
across the continent.
·
Bettel
(42 years), a centre-right politician who became premier in 2013, tied the knot
with Gauthier Destenay, a Belgian architect, just months after the Roman
Catholic duchy legalised gay weddings.
|
New President/Prime Minister
|
|
|
Nigeria
|
General
Muhammadu Buhari, President
|
|
Defeated
Goodluck Jonathan
|
|
|
Peru
|
Pedro
Cateriano Bellido, Prime Minister
|
|
Seventh
PM of Peru
|
|
|
Sudan
|
Omar
Hassan al-Bashir
|
|
He
has been in power in Sudan since 1989
|
|
|
Opp
parties boycotted the elections; EU, US, UK and Norway criticized the
elections
|
|
|
ICC
in 2010 issued an arrest warrant against Bashir by charging him with crimes
against humanity, war crimes and genocide during war in Darfur region
|
|
|
UK
|
David
Cameron
|
|
Conservative
Party; absolute majority; won 331 seats in the 650 seat House of Commons
|
|
|
Mauritius
|
Ameenah
Gurib-Fakim
|
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